Friday, November 2, 2007

NYC mayor urges carbon tax to cut individual taxes

From Reuters:

New York city Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for a national greenhouse gas tax on Friday, saying it would slow global warming and fund a $500 a year tax cut for the average taxpayer.

Under his plan, polluters like energy companies and utilities would have to pay $15 per tone of greenhouse gas they emit. The money would pay for a cut in federal payroll taxes, giving the average taxpayer the $500 a year break.

The energy industry likely would pass on the cost of the new tax to the consumer, the mayor admitted on his weekly ABC radio show. "So yes, it gets passed on, but the people who suffer the most get the benefit in the other direction, and the whole world benefits because we pollute less," he explained....MORE